Clock frame connecting device



INVENTOB MP2) 6 MA/V60N 9v (7 #MW AT 7'0 ENE Y6.

H. G. MANSON CLOCK FRAME CONNECTING DEVICE Filed March 16, 1950 LEI-7 "April 21, 1953 Patented Apr. 21, 1953 CLOCK FRAME CONNECTING DEVICE Harry G. Manson, Princeton, Ind., assignor to Hansen Manufacturing Company, Princeton, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application lVIarch 16, 1950, Serial No. 150,027

7 Claims.

This invention relates to connectors or fastening devices and particularly to a detachable fastener 01' connector which can be employed for effecting the quick assembling or disassembling of work members.

In the assembling of a great many work parts, particularly small members such as clock works and clock motors, screws are customarily employed for holding work members together.

This method of connecting the members together is quite satisfactory so far as strength is concerned, but it is relatively expensive and considerable time is consumed in putting the screws in position. An additional disadvantage is encountered when servicing assemblies held together by screws because it is sometimes diflicult to remove the screws and they sometimes even become broken. The particular object of the present invention is to provide a fastener or connector which will replace screws and similar threaded fasteners and which will be easier and more rapid to place in position than screws.

A still further object is the provision of a fastener having no threads and which can very quickly be put in place but which provides a strong fastener equivalent to a screwed connection for all practical purposes.

A particular object of this invention is the provision of a fastener adapted for use with a frame having spaced plates which serves not only to secure a work member to one of the plates but also serves to hold the plates in fixed spaced relation.

These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent upon reference to the following description taken in connection with accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a rear elevational view of a clock work and a clock motor secured thereto by a fastening device according to my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the clock work frame showing the fastening device of this invention clamping the mounting flange of the clock motor in position;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the fastening device in position with parts of the clock work frame and the mounting flange of the motor broken away for a better showing of the engagement of the fastener with these parts.

Figure 4 is a sectional view indicated by line i i on Figure 3 and showing how the fastening device provides a brace between the two plates of the clock work frame;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the fastening device of this invention,

Figure 6 is another view of the fastening device as it appears looking down on top of Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is a view looking in at the fastening device from the side opposite the one shown in Figure 3.

In the drawings there is illustrated a clock work I0 having a front plate [2 and a back plate H. The clock work includes the usual gear train, which is not shown in the drawings as a matter of convenience, but which will be understood to comprise any suitable arrangement for driving the several hour, minute and second hand shafts of the clock work which extend out through the front plate l2 as at I6.

In Figures 1 and 2 there is an electric clock motor 18 mounted on the back of back plate i4 and the frame of the clock motor includes a mounting flange 20 that extends out on opposite sides of the motor to adjacent the edges of back plate l4.

In the normal process of manufacture, the mounting flange 20 and the plates [2 and i i are provided with apertures for receiving screws to hold the motor on back plate I4. As may be seen in Figure 3, flange 20 has apertures 22 therein, while plates l4 and i2 have the apertures 24 aligned with each other and with the apertures 22. It will be noted that aperture 22 is larger than aperture 24 so that a screw, which will engage the smaller apertures, will slip readily through the larger.

Normally, when screws are employed, they extend only through the mounting flange 23 and plate l4. Due to this fact, the plates !2 and I i are only supported relatively to each other by the usual corner posts 26. In many instances, posts 26 do not provide sufficient support for plates i2 and I4 and it becomes necessary to supply an additional post between the plates intermediate their ends. According to this invention, the fastening device which replaces the screws for holding the motor [8 in place on back plate l4 also provides a support between plates i2 and It so that the need for additional posts there between is eliminated.

The fastening device referred to will be clearly seen in assembly in Figures 1 through 4. The fastening device is indicated by reference numeral 28 and will be seen to comprise a generally U-shaped body part 38, the legs 32 and 34 of which embrace frame 10 and the mounting flange 20 of motor [8. Intermediate legs 32 and 34, there is turned up from body 30 a tab or portion 36 that closely fits between plates 12 and l4 and thus acts as an auxiliary post or support 3 to prevent movement of the said plates relative to each other. Essentially, turned up portion 36 and leg portions 34 and 32 define slots as at 38 and 40, which receive the edges of plates 12 and I4 and of mounting flange 20, thereby providing support for these members. g

Reference to Figures 2 and 3 will reveal that body 30 of fastener 28 is also provided with a pair of extensions 42 and M on the side opposite turned up portion 36. These extensions carry fingers i6 and 48, which extend from their respective projections, in the same direction.

Finger 46 is shouldered as at 50 so the larger part of the finger will be closely received in aperture 22 of mounting flange 2'8, while the smaller portion will closely fit aperture 26 of plate It. Fingers 16 and 38 are aligned and are both rotatable in their respective apertures so that in placing the fastening device in position, motor l8 and frame l are first brought together in the proper relation, and then fastener 28 is brought into position with the aforementioned fingers engaging the apertures in the plates and mounting flange but with the fastener extended outwardly from the frame it] as indicated by the dot-dash outline 52 in Figure 1. The assembling of the device can now readily be completed by swinging the fastener to its full line position in Figure 1.

In order to retain the fastener in position, leg part 3d preferably includes a resilient extension 54 having a raised part 55 adapted for latching engagement with one of the apertures 22 in mounting flange 20. This provides a means which will hold the fastening device in position under all conditions of strain and vibration encountered in use of the motor and clock work.

In Figure 1, it will be seen that two of the fastening devices 23 are employed for connecting motor iii to plate i and that these fastening devices are identical in all respects.

Figures 5, 6 and 7 may be referred to for determinin'g the manner in which the fastening device can be formed whom a flat piece of metal in a relatively simple forming die. These views also indicate the alignment of fingers 46 and 48 by virtue of which the fastening device can be rotated about the axis of the fingers in assembling and disassembling the fastening device from the parts which it supports.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that my invention provides a fastening device which will eliminate screws in certain instances, which is much more rapid to use than screws, which maybe utilized in the factory when the parts are originally assembled, as well as in the field when the parts are being serviced, and which serves as a support for the parts which it holds together to prevent yielding thereof relatively.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions and, accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within this invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination: a frame comprising spaced plates, a member mounted on one of said plates including a mounting flange, said plates and flange having aligned apertures, and an attaching clip to retain the member and frame together comprising a generally U-shaped body part comprising a back and legs adapted to embrace the flange and frame between its legs, a part turned up from the back to engage the 4 inside faces of the plates, extensions on the back from the side opposite the turned up part and a finger on the end of each extension extending in a direction normal to the planes of the legs, said fingers being aligned and being rotatable in their respective apertures.

2. In combination: a frame comprising spaced plates, a member to be mounted on one of said plates including a mounting flange, said plates and flange having aligned apertures, and a clip detachably holding said member and frame as'sembled,'said clip having a back and parallel legs at the opposite ends of said back, and each leg having a pivot finger, one finger extending into the apertures in the flange and one plate and another finger extending through the aperture in the other plate, said fingers being rotatable in the apertures and said back having a portion cooperating with said legs for forming slots engaging the edges of the other plate, the aperture in the flange being larger than the ones in said plates, and said one finger being shouldered so as closely to fit the apertures in both flange and plate.

3. In combination: a clock work comprising spaced front and back plates and corner posts connecting the plates, a motor mounted on the back of the back plate, including a mounting flange extending to adjacent the edge of the plate intermediate the posts, said flange in plates having aligned apertures and a clip detachably retaining the motor in assembled position and also bracing the plates comprising a body part lying along the side of the clock work with one end bent over the front of the front plate and its other end bent over the back of the mounting flange, and with a part bent out into the space between the plates and engaging the inner faces of both, fingers connected to the body part and extending through the apertures in the plates and flange from the same side, and a resilient projection on said body engaging said flange to retain the clip in position.

4. An assembly clip for fastening a pair of members together comprising a back plate, a

pair of clip arms bent at right angles to the ends of said back plate, one of said arms being extended and having a pivot bent inwardly therefrom, a brace member bent at right angles to one edge of said back plate extending between and having its ends spaced from said clip arms, and a pivot carrying arm extending from the edge of the back plate opposite that of the brace member, said second pivot extending in the same direction as the first pivot.

5. An assembly clip for fastening a pair of members together, comprising a back plate having a bracing member adapted to be inserted between said members, a pair of parallel clip members at each end of saidback plate, a pivot member carried by one of said clip members and a second pivot member carried by said back plate and facing in the same direction as said first pivot member.

6. In combination, a frame comprising spaced plates, a mounting on said plates including a mounting flange, said plates and flange having aligned openings, and a clip detachably holding said members and clip assembled comprising a back plate having a bracing member thereon insertable between said plates, a pair of parallel clip members at the opposite ends of said back plate and a pair of pivot members .carried by said back plate extending in the same direction and spaced to be insertable in the aligned open 5 ings from the top of said flange and associated plate and the top of the other spaced plate.

'7. An assembly clip for securing a pair of spaced members having aligned openings in an assembled relation comprising a back member, a bracing member carried by said back member and insertable between said spaced members, a. clip at each of the opposite ends of said back member disposed in parallelism, a pivot carried by one of said clips and a second pivot carried by said back member, both of said. pivots facing in the same direction.

HARRY G. MANSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number m Number Name Date Wehinger Jan. 2, 1923 Rosat June 28, 1927 Putnam May 16, 1933 Shedd Sept. 17, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Sweden June 16, 1925 

